


Helping Hands

by kristicola



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkwardness, F/M, Facial Shaving, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 21:21:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2888354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristicola/pseuds/kristicola
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>RUNS SCREAMING i've never posted anything here beFORE HAHAH.... ahem... very mild conversational spoilers, I guess? This takes place after the conversation with Cullen about lyrium, involves a tiny itty bitty bit of sadness, but is mostly just copious amounts of fluff and a dash of awkwardness. P-please enjoy I have no idea what i'm doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helping Hands

“You trust me with my staff more than you do with a razor?”

The Commander had a habit of keeping his troubles to himself. Ara couldn’t blame him, really, she felt that way herself. But she did always try to be candid with him… to be honest with him, and herself, when she was with him. Perhaps because this whole ordeal… her… feelings for him… seemed so unlikely, she wanted to approach this situation with full certainty. But when she was afraid… it was hard to admit she felt fear for the coming events, this whole war… Her friends here, they managed to keep her in high spirits, but with each full step forward, the darkness of coming days loomed darker.

And she knew he was afraid too.

Afraid of the events at Haven repeating themselves, of losing more people, of.. losing himself.

The had little time to spend together as of late, but she’d heard mumblings from her companions, though they were little more than that. _They too did not wish to worry her._ He was tired, haggard, he did not seem to be sleeping, he’d put off shaving for days. As she watched him throughout the day while they passed one another in Skyhold on their individual tasks, she’d seen his hands shaking. His grip on his sword fumbling. It wasn’t hard for her to put together. _The withdrawals were getting to him._ He was working himself into the ground, trying to do anything he could to maintain focus. From her view of him now, she could see a handful of small cuts near his jaw, a few near his throat. She could only assume from the last time he tried shaving.

She knew he’d never ask for help. So she decided she’d take it upon herself.

“Ara that’s not…” he shook his head, more or less resigned to defeat, wearing a soft smile, “It’s just… not necessary, I had intentions of doing this myself, later…”

She sat indignantly, cross-legged on his desk, right atop any papers he had hopes of reading. He did not seem to mind about that particularly, though. He was lying, but she wasn’t going to argue the point with him. She simply shrugged her shoulders, smiling widely. “Well, what if I had intentions of occupying your time later? It’s not often we’re both free--”

The Commander raised a brow as he looked at all the paperwork she had scattered about to sit on his desk.

“ _Relatively_ … free…” she amended, taking his chin in hand, bringing his gaze to hers. “So why waste time, hm? I can help you do this, and I get to spend time with you all the same, right?”

“Ara…” he breathed out with a chuckle, he knew what she was doing… _He couldn’t let her worry about him_. She had so much more to worry about… and she needed to take care of herself. She was the one in danger, the one putting herself out there, the one everyone wanted. But he didn’t think she was about to let him get away from her… _he didn’t want to get away._ He just wished he was stronger. He needed to be stronger for her. “... fine. You are very persuasive.”

She beamed, happy to hear him agree, even if it was reluctant. She would have pulled rank if it was necessary, he couldn’t refuse the _Inquisitor_ now could he? Straightening up, she scooted to the very edge of his desk, beckoning him to move forward. “Okay, so… I’ve never done this before, but I got some tips from Dorian--”

A somewhat defeated sound escaped Cullen, _how many people were involved in things between the two of them_? But… be could not be upset that… they all seemed in favor of their relationship… They did all seem to truly be.. helping, when it came down to it. Even if they teased and tormented him in their spare time. When it really mattered…

A’raashna cleared her throat, running a hand along the gruff length of his jaw, tilting his head back, looking him over, “So I think I should be fine, but… if I do anything wrong, just…”

Cullen chuckled, smiling warmly as he looked over her face. There was a slight crinkle in her brow, like she was getting nervous. _Maker she was unbelievably adorable._ “You know, if you’re not sure…” he teased, taking gentle hold of her wrist, smile turning more towards a grin.

Her lips pursed, cheeks flaring red. _He was not allowed to be charming_. Even with the obvious wear and tear and lack of sleep gathering beneath his eyes… he managed to be dashing. Her breathing hitched and she glanced away, half-pouting. “No, I’m sure.” She leaned back, looking over the utensils Dorian had sent her in with. Setting her mind to the task, she prepped a little water, the shaving soap, dabbing the brush.

_Damnit, Ara, stop getting nervous._

She glanced back at him, who was watching her, seemingly enamored in her every movement. Her heart fluttered. _C’mon woman, focus_ … “O-okay.. so we’ll just…” she turned back to face him, brush in hand, _maddened_ actually, by how relaxed he suddenly seemed. Of course, that was only in the sense she found it so dreadfully hard to focus, seeing him with that confident smile on his face. _He knew he flustered her, and he enjoyed it._ She cleared her throat and he leaned forward, tilting his chin up for her.

She chewed on her lip, painting his jawline with the soap suds, doing her best to not make eye contact with him. _It would figure, she was the one who came here with the assertion of doing something and_ … now he sat, half smile on his face, very obviously in control of the situation. “Oookay… well, here goes…” she said softly, more to herself than to him, razorblade held steady in hand.

She moved carefully, taking pauses to meet his glance, for any sign she was doing something _stupid_ or _wrong_ or just anything… but he showed no signs of it. He encouraged her, really, with the occasional crack of a smile, though he did his best to hold still for her. She leaned back for a moment, looking over her work. She’d done most of the sides of his jawline, only particularly nervous about the areas near his lips, his throat, but everything was good so far. She smiled, pleased with herself. “Not so bad, right?”

“Not at all. I may be enjoying it actually.”

A soft laugh escaped her, part of her was flustered by his words, his _tone_.. but she was too happy with herself to let it get the better of her.

“Perhaps we should do this more often.”

 _Her ears burned_. Perhaps his sleep deprivation left him feeling bolder than he normally was. She didn’t dislike it, but she was not prepared at all on how to handle it. She bit her lip a little harder, smiling at him despite her bashfulness, brow raised slightly. “Well, lets just finish up and see if you’re still in favor of that when it’s all said and done.”

She would not let him fluster her further and returned to the task at hand. She moved very intently, taking a slow, steady draw of the blade up the length of his throat as she gingerly held his chin in place. She hard perfectly stable hands - she wasn’t worried so much she’d really hurt him, but she’d chastise herself if she messed up even a bit. She could see him swallow as she delicately move the blade up, removing excess foam, and starting once more. She’d not been this close to him very often… so rarely did she get to feel his skin beneath her fingertips… after all that had happened, all that would happen, she found herself thinking about it more than she’d likely admit. She could feel his pulse, strong and constant, despite it all. The relief she found herself feeling in that moment, she almost could not comprehend.

She continued on with her task, letting a comfortable concentrated silence fill between them. She got a little bit ahead of herself as she went over his chin. He didn’t even flinch, if she hadn’t noticed the red tint to the foam as she moved it along, she’d have been none the wiser.

“Ah..” she hissed, frowning deeply. He merely chuckled and shook his head a little. “Nothing to worry about, I hardly make it through a shave without a nick here and there. Besides, I think that just happened to be a recent scab, it’s impressive you’ve not opened more of them.. Not that I… lack any faith in your skill...”

She did not seem entirely satisfied with his response, but she would have to accept it. She wiped the area clean as she could, pressing a soft kiss on the spot. She could feel him tense for a moment, but he eased, a breath of a laugh escaping him. “On second thought, now that I’m thinking on it, you may have gotten me in a few other places..”

At first, she was legitimately concerned and straightened up, eyes wide. _She was still in the process of getting sarcasm down_ , some of the teasing she received from her friends, him included, still confused her. But she understood quickly enough, his smirk gave him away. The redness in her cheeks flared once more, but she grinned nonetheless. “Is that so? Well once I’m finished you’ll have to tell me where, then.”

Shifting where she sat, she returned to the task once more. She made quick work of what was left now, wiping his face clear of any remaining suds, looking him over. “Hm! Well, I think that looks right if I do say so myself. Go ahead, go take a look--”

She imagined he’d want to, you know, make sure everything was right, but she was caught _very much_ by surprise when he took hold of her by the waist, pulling her clear off the desk and onto his lap. “I’ll take your word for it.”

He needed this. He needed her. He spent all his time working, to try and keep focus off the pain, the burning, the thirst for lyrium… But her distraction… this was much better. It truly eased him… brought him a sense of peace he had not felt in some time… so long ago, he could not even recall..

She was surprised, flustered, but she did not mind in the least. She draped her arms over his shoulders, gaze flitting away until he took her chin and brought her it to meet his. “Thank you,” he said softly, brushing some loose silver strands from her face. “I’m sorry… if I’ve worried you..”

“Shh,” she shushed him, pressing her lips to his. He did not argue, fingers twining through her hair while the other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. How this had come to be… he had no idea, and neither did she. With all the events that had occurred since the Conclave.. somehow this still managed to be one of the more surprising turn of events. He followed her as she pulled her lips away, attempting to keep them. She laughed softly, leaning her forehead against his. “You can’t expect me not to worry, I worry because I care.” She snuck a couple quick kisses to his cheek, “You don’t get one without the other… Sooo I suppose, that’d mean no more of this, hm?”

“Fine, you can worry.”

He did not leave opportunity for her to say anything further as he brought her lips back to his. His kiss was needier than she could remember their past encounters being, it made her heart race to feel hands grip at her waist, pressing her against him. She’d never… really been in this situation. Back at the clan, perhaps there were small infatuations, but all in all… most certainly nothing like this… She’d never felt the tight grip of a mans hands on her in an affectionate, passionate way. She’d never been kissed so hungrily. Her whole body felt flushed, she squirmed slightly in his lap, grasping either side of his face in her hands -- he felt _hot_. She was surprised, fingers twitching with uncertainty, breaking the kiss in a heavy-breathed gasp, “Cullen you’re burning up..”

He panted in defeat, looking away from her. _He was aware… he’d only hoped somehow she wouldn’t notice_. They had spoken before, about some of the symptoms of his withdrawal, the overheating tended to be the thing that kept up up at night, but he didn’t want it to ruin _this_. He would endure it, if he was with her.

“The past few days… have been hard.” he admitted once he caught his breath, much to his chagrin. “I… can’t sleep… I’ve barely been able to run drills, the men look at me in _pity_ … as much as I try to hide it, they still see… I…” he looked back at her, brows knitted together, looking ashamed. _She wanted terribly to pull him into her_ , but at the same time, she did not wish to make him any more uncomfortable than he probably already was but was _not_ admitting. “I am able to occupy myself here, there is no shortage of things to do but…”

He looked over her face, drawing his gloved fingers down her cheek, “This was a much… much better distraction… ”

She smiled, taking his hand in hers, “I’m glad… but I… think I’m making it worse..”

He chuckled and shook his head, “W-well I can’t say you’re not adding to my penchant for overheating… but worse? Absolutely not.”

She still couldn’t fight a blush, _his damnable sweetness_ , but even in her bashfulness she leaned forward to place a few soft kisses against his lips. “I wish I could help though, I--” she sat straight up as an idea struck her, “I can! I can help!” She placed both hands back on either side of his scaldingly hot face, tugging at her mana every so slightly to draw a chilling sensation to her hands.

He raised a brow at her sudden movements, but as he felt her cooling touch against his skin, his eyes widened, but quickly a smile took his features. “Ah… that is better…” he moved in to kiss her again but she leaned back. “No, no, we’ve got to get you out of all this,” she gestured to the armor he wore, _that fluffy cloak especially_ , “I’m sure I can get you feeling even better!”

 _Well he was feeling pretty damn good where he was, but_ … wait, what?

He looked at her a little bewildered as she moved off his lap, insisting on standing him up. _Was she planning to undress him_? She pulled him up, and he simply watched her, confused, as she went about fumbling with the clasps of his cloak and outer layers. _She was undressing him_. Whatever cooling effects she had had on him moments ago, they were certainly lost to him now as his face turned a pretty shade of red. “A-ara… what are you…”

“I’m going to make _sure_ you sleep well tonight!”

 _Maker, the implications of that sentence alone_ … She of course did not realize, she was too fixated on the idea she could actually do something about this. Of course, it’d probably occur to her just as she was getting to it, and then she’d be embarrassed, but regardless, _she had a plan_.

She knocked lightly on the plate of his armor trying to get his attention which seemed to be elsewhere. “Uhm, yeah I don’t know how to do this..” She barely understood human _mage_ armor, so, trying to figure out how to get the heavy plate off? Not going so well. There were all these buckles and… “You just gonna stand there and watch me struggle?”

Cullen’s eyes widened, and he cleared his throat. _It… it was a little endearing to watch her struggle… now that he was noticing_ … “U-uhm… no, sorry…” He unfastened the couple of clasps that were beneath the plate itself, lifting the plate off and setting it aside. She helped him out of the rest, the gauntlets, the gloves, until he stood bare chested in front of her. _Even in her helpful-but-blind fury, she knew better than to start helping him out of his pants._ Well. _At least for now._

“Okay, okay, upstairs!” she took him by the wrist, pulling him along to the ladder.

 _Upstairs? His bedroom?_ He let her tug him along, rubbing at the back of his neck. He really had no idea what was happening, but.. he’d continue to haplessly follow her. Whatever she had in mind… while he was… unsure what to expect… he was pretty sure he would not dislike it. He watched as she climbed the ladder ahead of him, pursing his lips and mentally chiding himself over the view up the skirt of her robe he’d just gotten. He followed, chewing on the inside of his lip. _Maker what did she have planned?_ The fact he didn’t know was certainly not helping him cool off. It let his mind wander places he was still a bit ashamed of…

“Okay, you….” she looked over at him, it _now_ dawning on her… just how _shirtless_ and inherently _gorgeous_ he was. The faint moonlight only made him more stunning, and she had completely forgotten what she was doing.

“You… uh…” _wait what was happening_? She just stood there and stared at him, who was, respectively, staring at her, she assumed, waiting for her to say something. Though, really, he was staring at her for all the same reasons she was staring at him. The way the light haloed her hair, silhouetted her frame, that wide-eyed look of awe on her face….

_Oh, right, right, okay…_

“You… go lie down, uhm… front-ways…” she tore her roaming gaze away, following the pattern of the floor, swaying slightly on her feet as she waited for him to make himself comfortable. He nodded, clearing his throat, crossing the floor with a slow and confused gait. _Whatever she had in mind, he was a little grateful he’d be lying face down._

It was all sinking in for her now, and all her gusto was draining out of her quickly. _But she was going to help_. She moved over to the bedside with hesitant steps. She had to gather her courage back up, _she could do this._

“Okay… so this is probably gonna seem weird, and uhm… it’s… well just an idea… I can’t… promise it’ll work but I… can’t see why it wouldn’t so just--”

He shifted his head to peer one incredulous eye at her.

“.... just trust me.”

He gave the barest shrug of his shoulders, reburying his face into his pillow.

She gnawed on her lip, nose crinkling, wiggling where she stood once he turned his attention away. _Come on Ara, come on, you’re an adult. Quit looking at him like you’ve never seen a man before._ She took in a steadying breath and moved forward. Before she could second-guess herself, she stretched one leg across him, straddling him at his hips. Her jerked beneath her, shoulders stiffening, though he did not say anything.

“Just try and stay still.”

She could feel he was still tense, but he did not move.

She exhaled in determination, rubbing her hands together. “O-okay… just… try and relax.” A’raashna tugged lightly at the veil, wrapping her fingers in mana, she traced careful symbols across his back.

 _She could tell him to relax all she liked but it wasn’t an easy task._ It sent a heat up his back just to feel her thighs wrapped around him, but her fingers brushing so faintly across his bare skin.. buzzing with the barest hint of magic… be breathed out a shudder.

“I actually got the idea from some of the apostates I’ve faced in the field,”

Her voice abruptly brought him back to reality, a redness burning across his face - he’d really let himself go for a moment there. He tried to focus on her voice, anything to ignore her hands.

“They put up magical wardings, to keep others out, it took me a bit of practice, but I was able to decipher the warding for myself. I’ve not had a reason to put it into any real practice, but I thought the idea was interesting so--” she abruptly cut herself off, clearing her throat, “I… uhm, sorry, I was rambling.”

“No… I like it.”

His voice was muffled by the bedding, but clear enough for her to make out. She smiled, the redness spreading to her face now as well. As she connected the final lines, the spell gave off a faint glow of recognition.

“It uhm.. it shouldn’t do much, to be honest, it should serve better as protection than anything else - but… it should put off some cooling energies…” her relief, at the idea of being able to help him, greatly outweighed her embarrassment or bashfulness by this point. She wasn’t sure how potent it would be, she was careful to make it as weak as she could.. she didn’t want him _freezing_ or anything, but.. it did seem to have taken to him the way she was expecting. Her hands still chilled with magic pressed lightly against the small of his back, sliding up to his shoulder blades. “At least, enough to help you sleep at night, I think...”

“I already feel better,” he said, twisting somewhat beneath her so that he could more properly see her. This made her slip forward towards him a bit initially, clutching onto his shoulder so as not to fall completely onto his face. He laughed, throwing her off her balance entirely as he rolled completely over, holding her against him so she laid against his chest now.

Her eyes widened slightly, cheeks puffed, flushed all the way to her ears.

“You’re amazing, you know that right?”

The redness only deepened and she could do nothing more than bury her face into his neck. “I do something nice for you and you pay me back by embarrassing me?” she whined in a tiny voice, unable to fully comprehend the swell of joy that overcame her, feeling his laugh while lying on his chest, hearing it in his throat. _Stupid perfect man_.

“That was not my intent.”

“Uggghhh,” she groaned pitifully, “You’re making it wooorse…”

Another warm laugh escaped him, something she would never hear enough of. He drew his hand up her spine, letting his hand tangle in her hair as she hid against the crook of his neck for a few moments longer.

Finally, she heaved a sigh against his skin, placing a hand above either of his shoulders, prying herself off of him and peering down at him. “Well then. You promise you’ll try and sleep tonight?”

“Yes, _my lady_.”

She pursed her lips at him, _he knew that flustered her, damnit._ But she could not continue to pretend to be mad at him. She leaned down and placed a kiss on his nose.

“Good. The ward is not a strong one, it will naturally decay in a few days… if you engage in combat, perhaps sooner. If you are still troubled…” the quickest flit of a frown crossed her face, but only for a moment before she pressed a sweet kiss against his lips, “.. then I will have to replace it for you.”

He looked up at her like she was the sun and stars, _she was so damn beautiful_ … and beyond anything he could have ever hoped for. He tucked a long hanging strand of silver hair behind her pointed ear, “Well you’ve certainly made this a.. far more enjoyable experience..” He wasn’t sure if he wanted this to pass quickly now or not, he’d rather enjoy spending another evening like this.

As if reading his mind, she chuckled, “I’m sure we could find ways to enjoy each other that did not involve you suffering as well.”

They both smiled at one another until the _implications_ of that sentence hit them both simultaneously and their gazes darted away in embarrassment.

“You should rest, Cullen.”

Ara shifted, straightening her back a bit, going to move off of him, but he did not let go of her.

“Stay.”

His voice was gentle, he was not asking - for tonight, he wanted to be selfish, she’d gone to so much trouble to assure he would sleep… if she truly wanted him to sleep, he would do so much easier with her beside him. Of course he was not going to force her, but he hoped… he hoped she would not argue.

She looked at him, a little surprised, but not offput by his request, not at all. It made her chest swell, she only wanted to make sure she did not seem _overly_ eager… But she’d been staring silently at him for a long moment now...

“Please.”

Her heart swelled, brows furrowed, her smile was a little overjoyed as she let herself fall to his side on the bed, curling up beside him content as could be.  _She'd like nothing more._

“Of course.”


End file.
